All-Party Parliamentary group call for all landlords to fit CO alarms

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The All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG) campaign titled Carbon monoxide alarms: Tenants safe and secure in their homes is looking to improving current regulations for rented properties and make it compulsory to fit carbon monoxide alarms.

Alok Sharma MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, is backing a report by the APPCOG that proposes landlords must provide a CO alarm in properties containing any fuel burning appliance, as opposed to just solid fuel appliances.

The APPCOG writes: “This report has never been of greater significance, both in light of the Government’s White Paper and following the recent tragic Grenfell Tower fire, which have highlighted the need for a fundamental review of health and safety regulations to protect tenants in England.”

The Government has also announced their consultation on the reviews by the DCLG.

Barry Sheerman, Labour MP for Huddersfield and Parliamentary Officier and Co-Chair of the APPCOG said: “Housing regulations have become a pressing issue with pressures on housing market provision, more people moving into the rental market, and the population growing, we have to make sure that people are safe and secure in every home from CO.”

In 2004, one of his Sheerman’s constituent’s lost her son to CO poisoning and as a result she set up the Dominic Rodgers Trust. Since then, Barry has worked closely with the Trust and the APPCOG to help raise awareness, push for greater Parliamentary action and bring together Parliament, business, gas experts and many others to tackle this issue.

It is currently compulsory for all Landlords in Scotland to fit CO alarms but not in England and Wales where it is estimated 1.6 million rental homes could be at risk fro carbon monoxide poisoning.

Why is the life of tenants more important than those who own their own homes and are not required by law to fit smoke or CO detectors? Tenants who often don't pay rent on time and regularly falls behind on paying rent, which is also low on their list of priorities, holidays, shopping, eating out, presents and toys seems high on the list of some tenants, whilst landlords struggle to pay their bills and mortgage on time, without a gap, or face a repossession, and meet tons of regulations, whilst home owner's life seems least important in the eyes of the Government, yet many councils ignore some of the strict rules themselves, we all saw what happened when they cut corner on saving money using low and substandard insulation boards at Grenfell. What they don't understand is that money is not free-flowing for all landlords and we all have budgets to stick to and we cannot borrow money like our Governments can do.

My understanding is that the risk from a balanced or fan-flued device (such as all modern combination boilers) is zero if properly installed - even if it is faulty. This is because such a boiler doesn't take in or push out any air from the property, it is a sealed system where the air is taken from and returned to the outside. This isn't addressed in the APPCOG report.

My guess is that these are by far the most common form of fuel-burning heating in rented properties in UK and that in say 70% of such properties they are the *only* form of fuel-burning heating.

Wouldn't it make much more sense to require CO detectors only in rented properties with an open-flue fuel-burning device, such as a fire (including a gas fire) or a back boiler? This would extend the existing requirements (which only cover solid fuel devices) but in a sensible way. The wider extension envisaged by APPCOG (to properties with any fuel-burning device) just increases regulation and cost for landlords and agents (by say 2.5x) with no safety gain.

Also worth bearing in mind that although the cost of CO detectors, if battery-powered, may not be very high, there is the ongoing administrative burden of ensuring continued compliance (as with all regulations).

I fitted co alarms in my properties last year. Didn't have to but assumed this legislation would be coming anyway. They are not expensive. If, however, a ruling comes in requiring all smoke alarms to be hard wired, that WILL be expensive! The Gov has to apply all these new laws to the SRS too, otherwise the idea that the legislation is designed to protect tenants is unsupportable. Are SRS tenants' lives less valuable than those in the PRS?

Another chane to kick start improvement works in our houses to keep the system going whilst they take more tax from us. If houses could vote. With your electrical check have a mains powered one installed then its done nice and simple

I'm fairly sure fitting carbon monoxide detectors in all rental properties was in the first drafts of the The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, but was taken out very late on whilst the bill was being scrutinized in the House of Lords. It seems to me it was inevitable that it would later be added as an amendment.
Looking at some of the above comments I dumbfounded by others reactions at the prospect of having to install CO alarms. This isn't only about protecting tenants, imagine being responsible for a tenants death because of a boiler malfunction and there being no early warning.

Its Not the cost of Co2 alarm that's the issue , its the evidence base for why Co2 only seems to affect PRS tenants !
And Why does the ALLCOCK group make reference to Grenfell ?
that's just jumping on the bandwagon, the issues at Grenfell were a faulty electrical appliance that had been recalled, and cladding that wasn't fire-proof.

Been fitting these in all properties for years. For what they cost it's not worth it. But with mains powered smoke alarms when tenants remove the body of the alarm to stop it going off they invariably break them. So its 7 year sealed battery smoke alarms for me now as they are cheaper to replace.

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